Bronny James will be staying close to home for college and keeping it in the family.
The eldest son of NBA legend LeBron James announced on Instagram that he is committed to playing basketball at USC.
The decision keeps Bronny close to his Los Angeles home and also keeps him in the Nike family. LeBron has a lifetime contract with the shoe and lifestyle brand and Bronny has already signed an NIL deal with Nike.
This is just the latest move in the fabulous life of a teenager who now appears to be destined for NBA stardom.
The four-time NBA champion, four-time league MVP, and 19-time All-Star is officially the NBA’s all-time scoring champion, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s points record in February 2023.
He is the player most often mentioned along with Michael Jordan in the debate over NBA GOAT.
LeBron is one of the first athletes to become a billionaire. In addition to his growing off-court ventures, he has made $432 million during his 20-year NBA career. He also signed a two-year, $97 million extension with the Lakers, which will give him $141 million over the next three years and make him the highest-earning player in the history of the NBA.
Bronny reportedly considered three different Division I programs — all sponsored by Nike, of course — for his collegiate basketball career: 1) USC, which is close to his LA home, friends, and family; 2) Ohio State, Akron native LeBron’s favorite school; and 3) Oregon, which has the strongest ties to Nike, with CEO Phil Knight a major booster.
“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” James told ESPN. “Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him. I don’t meаn like [guarding each other all game] — because he’s a point guard and I’m a, at this point now I’m playing center or whatever the team needs from me. But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure.”
Before the most recent projections, there was some thought that younger brother Bryce might turn out to be the better hooper. One advantage he has is that he is already taller than Bronny despite being three years younger than his 18-year-old sibling.
